Will you repeal it or not? Republicans won’t answer the immigration question

Mitt Romney and the Republicans have found a number of creative ways to side-step the question, “Will you repeal Obama’s immigration order to grant temporary relief from deportation to the children of illegal immigrants?” Check out the highlight reel above, and keep in mind: this is only from Monday morning, on a single network!

Why is the GOP evading? Perhaps because the future of their party’s electability is at stake. According to the 2010 census, the Hispanic population makes up 16.3% of the country’s population. That’s a 43% increase since the previous census in 2000, making Hispanics not only the nation’s largest minority group, but also its fastest-growing one.

If Mitt Romney and the Republicans say that they would, in fact, repeal Obama’s new initiative, they risk alienating an increasingly influential voting bloc for this election and perhaps many more to come. On the other hand, if Romney admits that the president was right, he risks aggravating a conservative base whose high turnout in such a close race will be crucial for victory.

This, ladies and gentleman, is called a pickle. Hence the evasion.

The approach Republicans are taking seems to be threefold: accuse President Obama of acting in purely political interest, criticize him for creating a short-term solution to a long-term problem (one they’ve refused to address), and then repeat one of the first two tactics. Accuse, criticize, repeat—like something from the back of a shampoo bottle.

Obama’s immigration order could affect some 1.4 million young illegal immigrants. It will help them get the permits they need to work legally. This is an act of government that will have a powerful and immediate effect on the young people it helps to keep in this country.

If Mitt Romney and the Republicans can’t articulate their position on the matter—worse, if they don’t have a coherent one—then they better figure it out soon. Continued waffling won’t do them a bit of good.